Paulin Lumaj pays $2.5M for 50-unit dev site in Tremont

Paulin Lumaj through the entity 1968 Crotona LLC paid $2.5 million to Victor Burgos Jr. and Elizabeth Burgos for a 50-unit development site at 1968 -1970 Crotona Avenue in Tremont, Bronx.
On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 50-unit, 34,163 square-foot R-2 building. The project was developed by Paul Lumaj with plans filed October 7, 2022.
The deal closed on March 20, 2023 and was recorded on March 28, 2023.The two properties have 4,864 square feet of built space and 18,131 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 22,986 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $519 and the price per buildable square foot is $109 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The signatory for Paulin Lumaj was Paulin Lumaj. The contract date was June 7, 2022.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 1968 Crotona Avenue.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, Pincusco has records that the buyer Paulin Lumaj purchased one property in one transaction for a total of $3.6 million and sold one property in one transaction for a total of $12.5 million over the past 24 months.
The seller Victor Burgos Jr. had not purchased any other properties and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Victor Burgos Jr, head officer and Elizabeth Pichardo-Burgos, officer.

The property

The 1968 Crotona Avenue parcel has frontage of 25 feet and is 170 feet deep with a total lot size of 4,256 square feet. The zoning is R7-1 which allows for up to 3.44 times floor area ratio (FAR) for residential. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $631,000.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties since September of 2020. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $50 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Tremont, the bulk, or 41 percent of the 8.7 million square feet of commercial built space are elevator buildings, with walkup buildings next occupying 20 percent of the space. In sales, Tremont has the 26th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in Bronx with $58.3 million in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Tremont has had very little major development activity relative to other neighborhoods.It had 672,172 square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 8 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 1968 Crotona Avenue, PincusCo has identified the owners of five of the 10 commercial properties representing 102,719 square feet of the 121,508 square feet. The largest owner is Xhafer Gecaj, followed by Victor M. Burgos Jr. and then City of New York.
On the tax block, there was one new building construction project filed totaling 34,163 square feet. It is a 50-unit, 34,163-square-foot R-2 building developed by Paul Lumaj with plans filed October 7, 2022 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 72 percent of the 121,508 square feet of built space are specialty buildings, with retail buildings next occupying 15 percent of the space.

The buyer

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Paulin Lumaj owned at least 12 commercial properties in New York City with 101,826 square feet and a city-determined market value of $13.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $29.3 million in debt, with top three lenders as SUMA Federal Credit Union, BridgeCity Capital, and Northeast Community Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 65 percent of the 101,826 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with C0 properties next occupying 24 percent of the space. They are all located in Bronx.

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